Device for installing rope on a flagpole

ABSTRACT

The entrance to the socket carried by the upper end of the rod is placed close to one side of the periphery of the pulley and the spring, disposed in the socket, is lifted out and forced around the upper peripheral portion of the pulley by pulling downwardly on the string attached to the lower end of the spring. The string is then released and the weight of the portion of the spring which extends outwardly beyond the other side of the pulley causes the spring to fall downwardly, drawing with it the string. The rope to be installed is then attached to the string and the string is pulled back over the pulley drawing with it the attached rope.

United States Patent Primary Examiner- Andrew R Juhasz AssistantExaminerDavid R. Melton Attorney-Bacon & Thomas ABSTRACT: The entranceto the socket carried by the upper end of the rod is placed close to oneside of the periphery of the pulley and the spring, disposed in thesocket, is lifted out and forced around the upper peripheral portion ofthe pulley by pulling downwardly on the string attached to the lower endof the spring. The string is then released and the weight of the portionof the spring which extends outwardly beyond the other side of thepulley causes the spring to fall downwardly. drawing with it the string,The rope to be installed is then attached to the string and the stringis pulled back over the pillley drawing with it the attached rope.

DEVICE FOR INSTALLING ROPE ON A FLAGJPOLE This invention relates to adevice for installing a rope on a tall, erected flagpole and moreparticularly to a threading device for pulling a rope to which a flagmay be attached over a pulley which is mounted at the top of a flagpole.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In the past, in order to install a rope onan already erected flagpole, it has been necessary to remove the pulleyand lower it to the ground as shown in U. S. Pat. Nos. 366,141 and3,124,100, to provide the flagpole with an internal passage for athreading member as shown in U. S. Pat. No. 3,300,185, to build ascaffold to reach the pulley over which the rope passes, to provideexpensive lift machinery, to lower the pole to the ground or to climbthe pole. These solutions do not provide a simple, inexpensive way forthe average person to install a new rope on a flagpole.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of this invention to provide adevice for installing a rope on a flagpole which may be manipulated bythe installer while he stands safely on the ground near the base of theflagpole.

Another object of the invention is to provide a flagpole rope threaderwhich is easy to manipulate for installing a flagpole rope withoutrequiring any particular skill or unusual strength on the part of theinstaller.

A further object of the invention is to obviate the need for expensiveequipment or trained personnel for installing a rope on a flagpole andto eliminate the possibility of accidents associated with climbing orworking at elevated positions.

Additional objects of the invention are to provide a device which isrugged, quick and easy to assemble and use, and inexpensive tomanufacture.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will become moreapparent from the following specification when considered with thedrawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a broken, elevational view of a flagpole showing the ropeinstalling rod in operative position;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged, fragmentary elevational view taken on the line2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged, fragmentary, sectional view of the upper end ofthe device and the flagpole pulley with the tip end of the device inoperative position at one side of the puly;

FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 3 showing the position of the resilientspring after it has been lifted out of the socket at the upper end ofthe device and directed over the pulley, the major portion of the springhanging freely downwardly after having passed over the pulley and withthe rear portion of the spring still resting on the pulley; and

FIG. 5 is an enlarged, sectional view taken on the lines 55 of FIG. 3showing the guide bracket fixed on the installing rod and frictionallyembracing the flagpole.

For purposes of illustration, a flagpole l of conventional constructionis shown having a ball 3 fixed on its upper end and a pulley assembly 5mounted on the pole a short distance below the ball 3.

The pulley assembly 5 includes a sheave or pulley 7 rotatably mounted onthe body portion of a threaded bolt 9 which passes through a suitableopening formed in the flagpole. A pulley guard or protector I1 isdisposed over the upper peripheral portion of the pulley 7 and issecured to the flagpole by screw fastening means 13 and the nut 9a fixedon the threaded end of bolt 9. The guard 11 forms a tunnel or passageway15 with the upper peripheral portion of the groove of the pulley 7.

The rope installing device of this invention comprises an elongated rod17 which is of sufficient length to reach the flagpole pulley whilebeing held by the user standing adjacent the base of the pole. The rodmay be fon-ned in one piece, if desired, but, for convenience inhandling, transportation and storing, it is preferred that the rodinclude a plurality of sections 19 of suitable length which may beassembled to provide a rod of the required length for reaching thepulley and which may be readily disassembled.

The rod 17 may be either solid or tubular and formed of strong,lightweight material such as plastic, aluminum or wood. As shown by wayof example, the sections I9 of the rod 17 are slightly tapered andtubular and provided at their forward end with a socket 21 which mayhave a metal lining 23 and at their rearward end with a plug portion 25which may have a metal sleeve 27 on its outer surface. Obviously, thesections of the rod could be joined by other typed of joints or the rodcould be constructed so as to telescope in the manner of a fishing pole.

The tip section 29 of the rod 17 is provided at the rearward end thereofwith a plug portion 25 having a metal sleeve 27 thereon, and is providedat the forward end thereof with an elongated socket or cavity 31 whichextends inwardly from the outermost end 33 of the tip to a bottom wall35.

A resilient spring 37, shown for illustrative purposes as being spirallywound, is removable disposed in the cavity 31 with its bottom end seatedon the wall 35 and with its top end disposed adjacent the entrance tothe cavity 31. The outer diameter of the spring 37 is sufficientlysmaller than the internal diameter of the cavity 31 so that the springmay slide freely in and out of the cavity.

A lightweight string 39 is fastened to the bottom end 41 of the spring37 and extends upwardly in the cavity 31 beside the spring 37 and passesout of the cavity adjacent the upper end thereof through a small opening43 formed in the wall of the tip portion 29 closely adjacent the upperend thereof. The string extends downwardly from the opening 43 toadjacent the lower end of the rod 17 for manual manipulation by theperson installing the rope.

Since the upper end of the tip section 29 of the rod 17 is to bedisposed at one side of the pulley 7 and at the entrance 45 of thetunnel 15 when the device is in operative position, a resilientattachment bracket 47 is provided for assisting in guiding andmaintaining theupper end 33 of the tip 29 in alignment with the pulleygroove 49 at the entrance to the guard 11. The attachment bracket 47,formed of resilient or spring material, comprises a pair of resilientmembers 51 and 53 which are formed at one end to fit closely around therod 17 and are adjustably fixed thereto by threaded fasteners 55. Theouter free end of the members 51 and 53 are of arcuate configuration andprovide therebetwcen a generally circular opening for frictionallyengaging the outer periphery of the flagpole. The free ends of themembers 51 and 53 flex sufficiently for readily permitting the bracketto be attached and removed from a flagpole.

In operation, the tip section 29 with the resilient spring 37 and string39 in position as shown in FIG. 3, is assembled with the number of rodsections 19 required to reach the flagpole pulley from the ground. Withthe rod 17 disposed in a vertical position, the'attachment bracket 47 isengaged with the flagpole l in the position shown in FIG. 5 and the rod17 and bracket 47 are adjusted along the flagpole to position the end 33of the cavity 31 at the side of the pulley 7 and at the entrance 45 ofthe tunnel. with the device in this position, the resilient spring 37 islifted out of the cavity 31 and is forced through the tunnel l5 andaround the periphery of the pulley 7 by pulling on the string 39. Themajor portion of the long, resilient spring 37 will pass over the upperperipheral portion of the pulley 7 and out of the tunnel exit 57 andwill hang freely downwardly as shown at 59 in FIG. 4. The string 39 isthen released and the weight of the portion of the spring 37 whichextends out of the tunnel exit 57 and hangs freely downwardly as at 59will cause the spring to fall by gravity, drawing the rear portionthereof over the pulley 7 and pulling with it the string 39 which isattached to the bottom end of the spring.

After the spring 37 reaches the ground, the spring 37 is removed and theend of the rope to be installed is attached to the endof the string 39.The string 39 may then be pulled back up over the pulley 7 carrying withit the flagpole rope which will be pulled up over the pulley 7 anddownwardly to adjacent the bottom end of the flagpole.

Preferably the resilient spring 37 is of substantial length, forexample, about two feet long and of relatively small diameter, forexample, about three eighths of an inch. The size of the wire from whichthe spring 37 is closely wound is of small diameter, for example, about0.035 inch so that the spring is extremely flexible and readily bentinto the small arc required to pass over a pulley of relatively smalldiameter. Obviously, the resilient spring could also be in the form of astraight piece of spring material or of some other suitableconfiguration and could be provided at its outer free end with asuitable weight to assist in pulling the rear portion thereof over thepulley after the major portion of the spring has been lifted out of itscavity. Regardless of the type of spring which is employed, the springis constructed and arranged so that the portion thereof which passesover the pulley and hangs freely downwardly when the string is pulled toraise the bottom end of the spring in the cavity to about opposite thesmall string opening 43, has sufficient weight to drag the remainingportion thereof over the pulley so as to permit the spring to fall tothe ground when the string is released. It is also contemplated that thesocket or cavity be adjustably secured to the upper end of the rod atone side thereof, that is the axis of the tip section would not be inaxial alignment with the axis of the rod. Thus the tip would be mountedon the rod for angular adjustment relative thereto so as to reachpulleys located in remote or relatively inaccessible locations.

It is to be understood that the form of my invention, herewith shown anddescribed, is to be taken as a preferred example of the same and thatvarious changes in shape, size, and arrangement of parts may be resortedto without departing from the spirit of my invention or the scope of theappended claims.

What I claim is:

l. A device for installing a rope on a flagpole which has a pulleyrotatably mounted adjacent the upper end thereof and a stationary guardfixed a short distance above the upperperipheral portion of the pulley,said guard forming with said pulley a tunnel having an entrance and anexit, said device comprising:

an elongated rod having a length sufficient to reach said pulley whenheld manually in a generally vertical position from a location disposeda substantial distance below the pulley; an elongated socket having anopen upper end and a wall closing the lower end thereof carried by therod adjacent its upper end with the axis of the socket extendinggenerally in the direction of the axis of the rod;

an elongated, flexible, resilient spring removably disposed in thesocket with its lower end resting on said wall and with its upper enddisposed adjacent the open end of the socket;

and a string fixed at one end to the lower end of the spring andextending upwardly in the socket and then out of the socket adjacent theupper end thereof and then downwardly to adjacent the lower end of therod, whereby by positioning the open end of the socket closely adjacentsaid one side of the pulley and at the entrance of said tunnel andpulling downwardly on the string. the spring will be lifted out of thesocket and the greater portion of it will pass over the pulley andthrough said tunnel and will extend a substantial distance outwardly ofthe tunnel exit at said other side of the pulley, and the weight of theportion of the spring extending out of the tunnel exit will, uponrelease of the string, cause the spring to fall by gravity to adjacentthe bottom of the pole pulling with it the string whereupon the rope isinstalled by attaching one end of it to the end of the string or thespring and by pulling downwardly on the string, the string will bepulled back over the pulley and the rope drawn thereby upwardly over thepulley and downwardly to adjacent the bottom of the pole. 2. A deviceaccording to claim 1 in which the socket is formed in the upper end ofthe rod with the socket opening disposed at the extreme upper tipthereof, and the axis of the socket opening is coaxial with the axis ofthe rod.

3. A device according to claim 1 in which the wall of the socket isformed adjacent the open end thereof with a small string guide openinghaving a relatively smooth wall.

4. A device according to claim 1 in which the spring comprises a lengthofspirally wound spring wire.

5. A device according to claim 1 in which a guide bracket for engagingthe pole and guiding the upper end of the rod is fixed to the rodadjacent to but spaced from the upper end thereof.

6. A device according to claim 5 in which the guide bracket comprises apair of resilient members, means fixedly securing one end of the memberstogether and to the rod, the other end of the resilient members beingfree and unattached and normally spaced a short distance apart, and themidportion of the members being of arcuate configuration providingtherebetween a generally circular opening for frictionally engaging thepole after it passes between the free ends of the members.

7. A device according to claim 1 in which the rod comprises a pluralityof sections including a tip section having said socket opening therein,and means securing said sections together in end-to-end relationship.

1. A device for installing a rope on a flagpole which has a pulleyrotatably mounted adjacent the upper end thereof and a stationary guardfixed a short distance above the upper peripheral portion of the pulley,said guard forming with said pulley a tunnel having an entrance and anexit, said device comprising: an elongated rod having a lengthsufficient to reach said pulley when held manually in a generallyvertical position from a location disposed a substantial distance belowthe pulley; an elongated socket having an open upper end and a wallclosing the lower end thereof carried by the rod adjacent its upper endwith the axis of the socket extending generally in the direction of theaxis of the rod; an elongated, flexible, resilient spring removablydispoSed in the socket with its lower end resting on said wall and withits upper end disposed adjacent the open end of the socket; and a stringfixed at one end to the lower end of the spring and extending upwardlyin the socket and then out of the socket adjacent the upper end thereofand then downwardly to adjacent the lower end of the rod, whereby bypositioning the open end of the socket closely adjacent said one side ofthe pulley and at the entrance of said tunnel and pulling downwardly onthe string, the spring will be lifted out of the socket and the greaterportion of it will pass over the pulley and through said tunnel and willextend a substantial distance outwardly of the tunnel exit at said otherside of the pulley, and the weight of the portion of the springextending out of the tunnel exit will, upon release of the string, causethe spring to fall by gravity to adjacent the bottom of the pole pullingwith it the string whereupon the rope is installed by attaching one endof it to the end of the string or the spring and by pulling downwardlyon the string, the string will be pulled back over the pulley and therope drawn thereby upwardly over the pulley and downwardly to adjacentthe bottom of the pole.
 2. A device according to claim 1 in which thesocket is formed in the upper end of the rod with the socket openingdisposed at the extreme upper tip thereof, and the axis of the socketopening is coaxial with the axis of the rod.
 3. A device according toclaim 1 in which the wall of the socket is formed adjacent the open endthereof with a small string guide opening having a relatively smoothwall.
 4. A device according to claim 1 in which the spring comprises alength of spirally wound spring wire.
 5. A device according to claim 1in which a guide bracket for engaging the pole and guiding the upper endof the rod is fixed to the rod adjacent to but spaced from the upper endthereof.
 6. A device according to claim 5 in which the guide bracketcomprises a pair of resilient members, means fixedly securing one end ofthe members together and to the rod, the other end of the resilientmembers being free and unattached and normally spaced a short distanceapart, and the midportion of the members being of arcuate configurationproviding therebetween a generally circular opening for frictionallyengaging the pole after it passes between the free ends of the members.7. A device according to claim 1 in which the rod comprises a pluralityof sections including a tip section having said socket opening therein,and means securing said sections together in end-to-end relationship.